A unique feature along the coast of Western Australia, where water surges through a "horizontal waterfall," is part of a new Australian national park and marine park declared by the national government along the scenic shoreline.

The new park is situated in the Kimberley region, the northernmost part of the state of Western Australia. The region is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the east by the Northern Territory and on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts.

Despite its name, the Horizontal Falls are a coastal feature that isn't a waterfall at all - it is a set of parallel gorges with narrow openings through which seawater rushes with the ebb and flow of the tide, in a waterfall-like effect. They are located within Talbot Bay on the Buccaneer Peninsula.

"The extraordinary Horizontal Falls are an internationally renowned tourist attraction and it is imperative we maintain the pristine environment that surrounds them," said Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett in a statement.

Both the national park and marine park will be designated Class A by the government, which gives them the highest level of protection, according to the Western Australia government statement.

Horizontal Falls, a unique coastal feature on the Buccaneer Peninsula of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The falls are so called because the tides rush through the openings in the gorges like water in a waterfall. |
Timothy M Devinney, 2012

While the final borders of the parks have yet to be determined, the marine park would cover about 1,160 square miles (3,000 square kilometers) and would protect coral reefs, dolphins and mangrove forests, the statement said. The new marine park will expand the Great Kimberley Marine Park to 10,000 square miles (26,000 square km).

"Protecting the Kimberley coast and its marine and bird life provides a balance to the rapid spread of mining and other industrial development," John Carey, the Pew Environment Group's Kimberley Conservation Project director, told the Australian Associated Press.

The marine park would be multiple-use, with fishing and tourism opportunities. Existing pearling leases will also be maintained, the government statement said.

The park with be managed jointly with its traditional owners, the Dambimangari people, the premier said.

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8 Amazing National Park Structures Image Gallery: One-of-a-Kind Places on Earth All Yours: 10 Least Visited National Parks This article originally appeared on OurAmazingPlanet. Copyright 2013 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Artist Claudio Garzón was building a curriculum for a summer art course in Los Angeles when the idea struck. He remembered reading about a soldier in Afghanistan who created action figures out of bottle caps so he tried it himself.
Only instead of bottle caps, Garzón used plastic debris gathered from walks along the Los Angeles River. Dubbing his initial sculptures “Plastikobots,” he began teaching art students how to make their own with the intention that they’d learn about ocean conservation at the same time.
“When the signs are out there, how could you turn a blind eye?” he said. Here’s a look at Garzón’s steampunk art made from plastic trash.

The L.A. River stretches almost 50 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. Claudio Garzón lives several blocks from the river, not far from the area where it meets the Pacific. A net there is supposed to catch ocean-bound debris, but small plastic particles still get through, Garzón said.
Nearly every day he walks along the river, documenting the pollution he sees and collecting plastic pieces.
“A lot of the people who live by the river have formed organizations to go out there and clean it, but they only go out there once a year,” he said. This photo shows the plastic he collected in a single day.

Garzón dons gloves and carries a bag during his three-mile walks. He cleans the plastic he finds by soaking it for nearly a week in a bleach and hot water solution.
“I don’t like bleach, but that’s the only thing that’s going to clean it,” he said. He also started experimenting with a small UV disinfecting system modified from the larger kinds that sterilize surgical instruments.
While he allows himself to buy metallic paints, glue, and occasionally some screws for constructing his artwork, Garzón said he won’t buy any plastic pieces.
“I have to find it,” he said. And he’s found plenty: butane lighters, pen caps, LEGOs, Easter eggs, broken sand shovels, and doll parts for example.

The name for the sculptures comes from the Spanish word for plastic, which is plastico, but Garzón modified it with a K. With support from colleagues in San Francisco, one of the Plastikobots was first displayed in the main lobby of the EPA building there for about six months.
Then Garzón said his colleagues urged him to start making marine animals that would appeal to more people. He decided to run with their suggestion.

Garzón has taught workshops and after-school art programs in Los Angeles public schools. In Watts, his lessons include learning about upcycling, turning trash into something of value, and an introduction to marine biology.
“Even though they’re young, they still have a responsibility to do their part,” he said. “But the only way to do that is by having people come and educate them about the problem and what they can do.”

Over the course of a 10-week semester, students at the 109th Street Elementary School in Watts learned about the chemistry of plastic, its persistence in the environment, as well as the impacts it can have on marine life, animals and human health. Garzón also taught them about ocean gyres, enormous rotating currents across the planet that are currently collecting all kinds of waste in a sort of swirling plastic soup.

Garzón wants to convey a certain vulnerability with the style of his turtle sculptures.
“I try to give it a little more emotion within the eyes,” he said. “A lot of people when they buy one of the turtles they say there’s something about the eyes of the sea turtles.”

Garzón co-founded a nonprofit called Save Oceans and Seas, or SOS for short to bring attention to local debris accumulation. In addition, he’s collaborated with several ocean advocacy groups, including Heal the Bay in Santa Monica and the San Francisco-based organization Sea Stewards to support awareness campaigns.
“The awareness and attention these pieces have received has been overwhelming,” he said.

During one visit to a local park where families and children like to play, Garzón noticed that Styrofoam plates left behind were getting scattered around by seagulls. So he began to clean them up.
Adults in the park stared at him and one woman even asked why he was picking the plates up. “I go, ‘because it’s an eyesore. You don’t want your little grandson coming over here and playing with the plates,’” he said. “I can’t ignore it.”

Recent rain in Los Angeles triggered a warning about high bacteria levels in the river. When he was a child, Garzón didn’t remember hearing about things like that. Now, chemicals go into the water and plastic stuck there starts leaching.
In the land of fish tacos and sushi, the impact can end up on the plate. “More than likely your fish has come in contact with this,” he said. “Think about it: How many pieces of plastic are out in our ocean?”

One time Garzón found what looked on the surface like an empty container of cooking oil. On closer inspection he made an unsettling discovery.
“There were actually mussels growing on the inside of that piece of plastic,” he said. “On the outside you had barnacles.”

During his sculpture process Garzón takes photos showing the menagerie of plastic components that go into each piece. While most who see his completed art respond positively, he admitted that there are some who accuse him of glorifying plastic.
“They go, ‘You can’t tell it’s plastic.’ I go, ‘you’ve really, really got to look hard,” he said. Once he starts to point out what is what, the pieces sometimes make more sense to them. “The people who actually get it will go, ‘Oh my God I see a butane lighter there. Is that a bottle cap?’ Yes it is.”

A series of steampunk sharks has helped Garzón discuss challenges facing them in the marine ecosystem, he said. In particular, the sculptures open the door to conversations about pressing issues such as shark finning for soup.
“(These sculptures) bring awareness to the atrocities that are happening to this majestic predator,” he said.

Each sculpture ranges in price from $480 to $680 for the robots and $850 to $1,600 for the steampunk marine animals in the Oceanic Series, Garzón said. But on occasion he has forgone the asking price in the name of a bigger cause.
“I’ve donated several sculptures to different organizations and nonprofits I believe strongly that they are doing good work,” he said.

A World War II era breakwater in Long Beach that still exists today prevents waves from coming in and out, Garzón observed. That means debris -- particularly plastic trash -- collects in the water and along the beach.
“It’s almost like our own personal Pacific gyre,” he said.

Art can be a form of environmental remediation, Garzón says. His eye-catching sculptures are a way into conversations about plastic pollution, ocean conservation, and the impacts all that waste is having on marine life.
“We can’t solve the problems if we don’t have enough of an army of marine biologists,” he said. “We have to teach the next generation and say, hey this is cool, saving the environment is cool, saving the ocean is cool, saving the animals is cool.”

Garzón has an inclusive teaching style, ready to share his enthusiasm and what he’s learned with a younger generation to empower them so they can make an impact.
“When you walked in that door, you didn’t have any idea of what was going on in the Pacific or any of the oceans around the world,” he tells his students. “As an individual, what do you want to do? How are you going to make that small change?”

The catalyst for Garzón came during a difficult personal time. While reflecting on his life, he began thinking about his daughter and young niece. Garzón vowed to do something positive so he started working with plastic and teaching.
“I have my associates (degrees) in design and graphics, but I was always creative,” he said. His parents and teachers he had growing up challenged him and wouldn’t let him go astray. “I want to do the same.”